Hello! My name is Maureen Heil and I need YOUR HELP!
I am a children's yoga teacher, and I do service through Go Give Yoga, a non profit organization that brings the gift of peace, education, & empowerment through yoga.
I am an Registerd Childrens Yoga Teacher, Experienced Registered Yoga Teacher 500, Ayurvedic Yoga Therapist & Health Counselor currently. I also am certified in yoga for special needs( Every Kids Yoga) and trauma with Yoga Activist.
I was the director & lead teacher of a non profit preschool for over 17 years, and then the world flipped over when I became a children's yoga teacher. I found another way to reach children. Children that NEEDED me most. I stumbled upon Go Give Yoga and their work in Haiti, and found a purpose to my outreach and traveled there in 2012. It changed my life, and my vision of the world. Imagine what it is like to be a child with no HOPE.......I found out that Go Give was reaching out to help in Appalachia, and decided to take a big step and become coordinator for this beautiful, yet forgotten region. If you need a clearer picture of the plight of these children, PLEASE watch the video link, it will open your eyes to what is going on here in our backyard. I travelled down to Eastern KY and felt such a strong connection, I knew what I had to do. I was hosted by people there in Beattyville that know the needs firsthand and got to know them ...& their plight. In a place where trust is earned, they opened their hearts and homes.
My program model is simple, to travel to Eastern Kentucky, which has 3x the national poverty rate, an epidemic of prescription drug abuse, cancer, depression, childhood obesity, and is the most disadvantaged region in the country, to teach yoga & mindfulness to the adults in the community that are trying to become catalysts for change. By teaching adults how to bring peace and hope by connecting to their strength they can pay it forward in the community. Yoga reduces stress & anxiety, brings more strength & flexibility both physically and mentally, and can bring children a connection to the light within them. Statistics show the benefits of Yoga based movement & mindfulness and the impact it has on both mental & physical well being. I have seen the good it does first hand for people in trauma.
The adults that I will be training will be taking the skills taught to them and doing service in their own communities with empoverished children at risk.
Your contribution will help pay for training manuals, supplies, & travel. You will also be supporting Go Give Yoga in our efforts. The people of Appalachia are proud, strong, and desperately needy. Jobs are virtually non existing, children often go to bed hungry because their parents are jobless and what resources hey have go to drugs, alcohol, or tobacco. They call themselves the "Forgotten." It breaks my heart that this exists in America
Last year was a pilot. Those trainees are beginning to reach out to work with children from Sunday School to high school. We need to do more, to reach every . Child.....I dream big, and hope you do to.
By helping the children of Appalachia by funding this program, you will be creating leaders in communittees that need help to create a brighter future. The adults that I will be working with must apply to Go Give Yoga and detail their population. They must agree to teach for free for six months once a week, and document the positive impact of their work. In this way they pay it foward and create awareness for Appalachia's children.
People in Appalachia are rooted deep in their mountains, and they see the mountains as your mothers arms-hey hold you in one place. I have made a heart felt connection with community leaders Deborah Pennington andd Joan Hall St. Clair, and they have linked me to a people we need to remember. Together we have the tools to create strength and healing in a place that so desperately needs help. If you can, PLEASE donate. If you are moved, please share. Visit www.gogiveyoga.org